{"id":94,"date":"2014-02-11T02:31:23","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T02:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=94"},"modified":"2014-02-11T18:14:41","modified_gmt":"2014-02-11T18:14:41","slug":"economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-january-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2014\/02\/11\/economic-development-%e2%80%93-monthly-report-%e2%80%93-january-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 January 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

General notes:\u00a0 <\/strong>As some of you might already know, I have been accompanying Terre on his initial fire\/life safety inspections for several months now.\u00a0 I feel that a) it is vitally important for me to understand the Building and Planning worlds a little bit better, and these inspections really help me to determine what Terre\u2019s looking for and therefore how to advise businesses, and b) it gives me an opportunity to offer my services as the City\u2019s business liaison and meet these business owners face-to-face.\u00a0 While going through this process with a new business, we came across a problem that Terre runs into quite a bit, and one that might benefit from a little bit of direction from Council.<\/p>\n

As we were walking through the property, we came across a fairly substantial \u201cstorage loft\u201d (600-800 SF) that the business owner was planning on using as a day-care space for his kids while he worked, as well as to store equipment.\u00a0 Upon further inspection, the loft was found to be recently (> 2yrs ago) constructed without permits, possibly by the building owner himself.\u00a0 Terre instructed the business owner that he would not be able to use this section of the building until further notice as he needed to determine how and when this space was constructed, and was asked to post a sign saying that no children were allowed in this area at all. \u00a0He is currently researching the situation.<\/p>\n

Terre would be well within his rights as a building official to make the building owner tear out all of the unpermitted work and start over.\u00a0 However, this would definitely not be seen as being a \u201cbusiness-friendly\u201d move, a goal that Council has made clear that they would like us to work towards whenever possible. We can’t ignore such a move because of the liability to the City, and because to do so would be unfair to building owners that play by the rules. My suggestion was to ask if there was some way we could require the building owner to get permits for the work retroactively, pay the permitting fees, and pay a penalty on top of those fees that would hurt, but not hurt as much as tearing out what might be perfectly good work.\u00a0 But of course, this is a policy decision and is therefore not ours to make.\u00a0 Looking forward to any thoughts you might have with regard to this issue\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crawlers (38250 Pioneer Blvd)<\/span>:\u00a0 Plans have changed for this space in Brian Tolle\u2019s building at the corner of Bluff and 26.\u00a0 As mentioned in previous reports, the Boring area auto repair shop that had its eye on this space has backed out of that deal for unknown reasons.\u00a0 The current plan is for Sara McKay, daughter of Mad Dogz Hobby Shop owners Mike & Kathy McKay, to create a complimentary business in the space next door.\u00a0 The plan is to build a \u201ctrack\u201d for the radio-controlled (RC) vehicles that Mad Dogz sells inside the back end of the property, and to build a RC-themed restaurant in the front called Crawlers to serve those folks that would like to run their vehicles there.\u00a0 Sara tells me that the menu will be similar to Dea\u2019s Restaurant in Gresham (burgers, fries, shakes, etc.).\u00a0 They are currently in the process of building out the interior of the space, and project a March opening date.<\/p>\n

Iris Healing Arts<\/span>:\u00a0 Iris House has landed!\u00a0 After moving out of her space behind the Beer Den on Strauss Avenue, Heather Michet has worked out a deal with another health care provider here in town.\u00a0 She will move the office portion of her business to her home, and she will be moving the practitioner\u2019s portion of her business into a space provided for her by Anna Zell of Pearl Acupuncture.\u00a0 This move should represent a significant savings in overhead costs for Ms. Michet, which should help to keep this business viable in the near to moderate future.<\/p>\n

Two Bros. Mexican Restaurant<\/span>:\u00a0 Concerns here about the overall viability of this business continue, although the patterns here are a little confusing.\u00a0 I have been checking regularly now, and this business no longer seems to be open for lunch at all, even while the sign on the door says that they\u2019re open at 11am.\u00a0 My contacts in the restaurant industry say that this is a sign of \u201cthe beginning of the end\u201d for this business.\u00a0 However, I regularly see decent crowds at this restaurant at dinner time.\u00a0 Not sure what to make of this yet, but I will continue to try and get in to talk to Angelberto about his situation.\u00a0 Councilor Gerberg:\u00a0 Whenever you have the time, I will work around your schedule.\u00a0 If you\u2019re still up for it, let\u2019s go chat with him sometime in the next couple of weeks.\u00a0 Office # is 503-489-2159, and personal cell # is 503-475-8430 — call me anytime.\u00a0 Como dije antes, la primera cerveza est\u00e1 en m\u00ed. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s Tire Service<\/span>:\u00a0 This is a small wheel and tire dealer\/installer that is setting up a small shop in the industrial-zoned buildings at Industrial Way across from Fred Meyer\u2019s gas station.\u00a0 He is currently working on his initial fire\/life safety inspection list – he has one mechanical permit in process, and needs to paint his air compressor storage unit to match his building before his business license will be processed.<\/p>\n

Tamale Factory<\/span>:\u00a0 Spoke with Antonio Paez last week about how this build-out is progressing\u2026.he was unaware that the state law regarding grease interceptors had changed and that this would be required of any business serving any kind of food now.\u00a0 This equipment can be expensive, and he had not factored this into his budgeting when writing up his business plan.\u00a0 However, he has worked out some sort of deal with Andrew Muff (building owner) to split the cost somehow, and plans are back on track.\u00a0 Look for fresh tamales starting in March! (old Coffee Station property next to Tovar\u2019s)<\/p>\n

Starbucks<\/span>:\u00a0 As mentioned in earlier reports, the (now) former Jack In The Box on US26 will be the new home for the Starbucks located next to Bi-Mart.\u00a0 The pre-application meeting has already happened, and their contractor is currently working on the remodel for the interior of the building.\u00a0 They are anticipating a summer move at the latest, and Starbucks employees are very excited to be moving to a building that has a) sunlight, and b) much, much more space.\u00a0 From a business standpoint, this move should increase their visibility substantially and give a much more spacious, relaxing environment on the interior.<\/p>\n

LoriRyland.com<\/span>:\u00a0 I\u2019m really, really excited about this one\u2026.Lori Ryland has signed a deal with Dr. Eric LeMay of Bull Run Chiropractic to lease the space formerly occupied by Hahn Consulting on the corner of Proctor and Strauss.\u00a0 Although the space is only about 1400 SF, it is substantially larger than her previous location and should provide a fantastic opportunity for Lori to expand her business.\u00a0 Lori plans to continue with her art classes, but will now have a space that can be used both as a gallery and as a social gathering space in the future.<\/p>\n

On a personal note, I had been hoping that Lori could find a space somewhere in the couplet so that we could keep her involved in First Fridays and other Sandy Main Street events.\u00a0 Having a local artist in the downtown area, especially someone as talented as Ms. Ryland, will be quite advantageous to Sandy Main Street in the future.\u00a0 Aubrey also plans to approach her to ask if she might consider serving on one of Sandy Main Street\u2019s committees as our art and marketing advisor<\/p>\n

Bunsenbrewers<\/span>:\u00a0 Aaron Hansen is operating on a temporary business license and is currently serving libations at Sandy\u2019s newest brewpub!\u00a0 He still has one plumbing permit open (thus the temporary permit), and has some things to complete for the county health inspector prior to being fully operational.\u00a0 However, the mayor tells me that the grand opening a few weeks ago was standing room only, so Aaron has certainly been marketing his business well.\u00a0 I will stop by in a week or two to see what kind of progress he\u2019s making (and to get a growler of Heisenberg for sure!) \u2013 go to his Facebook page to see the latest (https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Bunsenbrewer)<\/p>\n

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Sandy Main Street:\u00a0 <\/strong>Due to the fact that we do not appear to have administrative rights to the website for Sandy Main Street (and because our website is, quite frankly, a little lame), we have started work towards setting up an entirely new website.\u00a0 I recently purchased the domain name sandymainstreet.org<\/em> to use alongside sandymainstreet.com<\/em>, and we will direct both to the new site.\u00a0 Look for the new site to be up and running by the end of the month!\u00a0 In related news:<\/p>\n